Discharger mechanisms, sometimes referred to as feeder mechanisms or stoker mechanisms, are well known and U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,149 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,761 both disclose examples of such discharger mechanisms. A serious problem with such discharger mechanisms is that the stoker rod is subject to lifting caused by compaction of fines underneath the rod. This is particularly true of those prior art discharger mechanisms employing grease lubrication and using round stoker rods disposed in a trough or cavity. This lifting of the stoker rod eventually causes mechanical damage to the stoker mechanism through wear, thus necessitating expensive repairs or replacement. Previous discharger mechanisms designs employing round stoker rods used a seal strip with a bevelled edge which was disposed so as to come in close contact with the upper portion of the round rod, the seal strip thus serving the dual functions of preventing the rod from lifting and of impeding the flow of fines into the cavity. A significant problem with the construction described above, and with other hold down plates such as described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,149, is that the friction, and hence the wear, takes place on the rod itself and will eventually cause the rod and/or the seal (hold down) strip to fail, thereby requiring expensive replacement.